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Diatoms are primary producers and the fastest growers. If they are thriving it's a signal the water quality has dropped and they are doing their job, consuming
by hcarvalhoalves 12y ago
Diatoms are primary producers and the fastest growers. If they are thriving it's a signal the water quality has dropped and they are doing their job, consuming the excess nutrients, so trying to kill it makes no sense.
While they feed on nitrogen and phosphorus their limiting nutrient is silicates, so maybe it's tied to siltation (erosion making it's way into water bodies). I don't see this mentioned on the article.
- razster 12y agoIt's stopping money from flowing down the river and those with boats from enjoying their weekend. It must die.
- lvh 12y agoPart of the main thesis of the article is that unlike what we've seen from diatoms in the past: - the growth is not a traditional growth in the reproduction sense; - the growth appears to be linked to low phosphorous levels, not high ones. As a result, I don't think your first comment makes any sense.
- hcarvalhoalves 12y agoIt's about nutrient imbalance, not simply excess of nutrients across the board. You can have, e.g., a high silicates and low phosphorus situation driving this particular diatom, simply because phosphorus is not the limiter (as I have already stated is the case for diatoms). If you had a different nutrient balance, there would be competition with other organisms, so no growth in the first place. Whether it's reproductive or vegetative growth is irrelevant, because the mechanism of competition is the same: it covers surfaces and outcompetes other colonies.